


Abandoned Library

by Offmon



Series: Cyber Sleuth/Appmon Crossover World [2]
Category: Digimon Story Series | Digimon World Series, Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters
Genre: Digital World, Gen, Rescue, Rescue Missions, is it a ship fic? maybe, you'll have to wait and see
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27722167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Offmon/pseuds/Offmon
Summary: A week has passed since Ozora Yuujin's disappearance.  His mother is nowhere to be found, but Katsura Rei and Shinkai Haru are still looking desperately for their friend, despite all signs pointing to his death.  Unbeknownst to them, however, there's someone else also looking for Ozora Yuujin...an older boy named Aiba Takumi.  Will the group be able to unite their skills and rescue their friend, or will Yuujin be stuck in cyberspace forever?
Series: Cyber Sleuth/Appmon Crossover World [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1955482
Kudos: 3





	1. The Human World

_ “You initially activated on Leviathan’s orders. So I’m giving you an order, too. Yuujin! Be my friend, just like before. Be the kind Yuujin I knew. ...Meet me again someday in our world.” _

Haru’s last words to Yuujin rattled around in the green-haired boy’s skull like a rat frantically digging for food. Haru had his head rested against the railing of the train, staring blankly out the window on the other side of the train. He was on his way to a tea ceremony hosted by Astra - he was happy to go out with his friends and have a reason to think about something other than Yuujin, but...even as his stop was coming up, he couldn’t get his mind off his best friend.

“I’ll find where Yuujin ended up,” Rei insisted to Haru, despite Haru’s insistence that he didn’t have to. Rei had offered that the same day everything had happened. Haru didn’t want to make it anyone else’s problem, but he had to admit that he appreciated Rei’s technical prowess backing him up.

Haru had decided from the beginning that bringing Yuujin back would be his responsibility - his mission. Even though no one else had argued with Haru, Haru couldn’t help but worry that they might not fully trust Yuujin after everything that happened. It was understandable. But Haru knew Yuujin’s truth. He would bet his life that Yuujin would never try to hurt anyone ever again.

It didn’t help that Yuujin’s mother was nowhere to be found. Rei suspected that she was likely a scientist hired by Leviathan for the purpose of monitoring Yuujin, but that didn’t change the fact that she was their best lead for information about Yuujin.

“Haru, are you okay?”

Gatchmon’s question snapped Haru out of his thoughts, and he managed a weak smile. “I’m fine, don’t worry,” he insisted. “Just thinking, that’s all.”

Gatchmon gave Haru a sad, disbelieving look, but didn’t say anything further about it. “It’s almost our stop. Eri will give us an explosive punch if we’re late, so we can’t miss it!”

Haru nodded, checking his phone just to make certain the train wasn’t running late. Thankfully, it was right on schedule. The muffled voice of the announcer boomed over the intercom, and the doors opened. Haru gently grasped Gatchmon’s chip to make sure his buddy didn’t get lost in the crowd before worming his way out of the train with the crowd and out of the station. He looked in both directions from the train station. Thankfully, Navimon came in quite handy during times like this. Haru snapped Navimon’s chip into his 7-codes band and followed the directions to Astra’s house.

“HARU!” an excited voice rang out.

Haru looked up, seeing Astra’s distant form waving excitedly at him. The two sped up to meet each other halfway to Astra’s house.

“I’m glad you made it - that’s totally groovy!” Astra exclaimed in a sing-song voice. “Eri’s already inside. Did ya bring the others?”

Haru nodded, taking the chips out of his pocket. “Offmon, Bootmon, you can come out now.”

Both Appmon sheepishly peaked their heads out of their chips, looking up at Astra and Haru warily.

Haru had offered to take Bootmon for Hajime, so that Bootmon could still support Astra even if Hajime, Rei, and Hackmon were busy looking for Yuujin. Admittedly, it made Haru feel a little useless and lazy that Rei, Hajime, and Hackmon were doing all the work while Haru went to a party, but...at least he was getting to support Astra. He couldn’t justify spending time hanging out with his friends if it wasn’t to help them with something - not until he got Yuujin back.

Musimon’s chip floated over to them. “Offmon, Bootmon, hi!” Musimon greeted happily.

“Boo says hi!” Bootmon replied cheerily, perking up, but Offmon shied back into his chip a bit.

Offmon had had just as hard of a time with things as Haru had. They managed to find his chip, along with Bootmon’s, in the wreckage from the city after being brought back by Denemon. But the Appmon didn’t even peer out of his chip for several days, too ashamed to face the others. But with some reassurance from the buddy Appmon - even Gatchmon - and Haru, Offmon was finally starting to come out of his shell a little bit.

Only a little bit.

Unlike before, Offmon wasn’t trying to push anyone away - he just wanted to do everything that he could to help the others. And if he couldn’t improve things or made a mistake, he would apologize profusely.

It wasn’t Offmon’s fault that this happened. He didn’t deserve to feel guilty for everything that went wrong. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Haru just wanted all of his friends to be safe and happy.

“Little bro Offmon!” Dokamon’s voice rang out as his chip fluttered over to the other Appmon. “You made it!”

“Y-yeah! I wanted to support Astra and the others, offu…” Offmon murmured.

“You guys!” Eri shouted anxiously from right outside the house, waving at them. “Shouldn’t Astra be studying for his ceremony?!”

“You’re so not groovy!” Astra feigned to pout, giving Eri two thumbs down. “I know my stuff already - I totally don’t need to study!”

Despite Astra’s arguments, Haru quickly hurried over. “Sorry, we were just talking,” he apologized to his friend.

“You should always be extra prepared,” Eri chastised Astra as the younger boy approached, having followed Haru over. “That way there’s no chance of failure!”

“Pfft! There’s no chance anyways!” Astra insisted.

“Offmon, have you ever drank any of Astra’s tea?” Dokamon asked.

“I don’t th-think so, offu…” 

“You have to try it! It’s soooo groovy, man!” Musimon exclaimed heartily.

“Wasu!” Dokamon nodded with agreement.

Haru smiled, letting out a little chuckle at the excitement. It felt nice to just hang out with his friends, without so many worries hanging on his mind.

His expression faltered slightly. So many worries.

“Haru?” Gatchmon asked softly, startling Haru a bit.

“I’m fine!” Haru repeated anxiously as they both followed a bickering Eri and Astra inside. “Just excited for the tea ceremony, that’s all.”

Gatchmon frowned.

\---

Haru flopped down onto his bed without even putting away his coat and backpack, sighing with exhaustion and satisfaction. The moon had risen high in the sky, shining through his drawn back curtains. Astra’s tea ceremony’s afterparty had run a bit late - not unexpectedly, given how much fun everyone was having - and Haru was tired after spending so long out and about. Gatchmon plopped down next to him, also sighing contently.

Haru peered over the side of his bed. Offmon was sitting in the corner of his room, staring down at his own paws.

“Oi, Offmon! It’s way comfier to sleep on the bed!” Gatchmon pointed out.

Offmon jumped, startled. “N-no, I’m okay,” he peeped back, shying into his coat a bit. “I’m just tired after hanging out with all my nice friends today, that’s all...offu…” His hat slipped over his eyes, and Haru could hear a faint snoring sound coming from the Appmon.

Haru stared up at the ceiling, mind drifting to all the thoughts he had kept buried during the actual celebration.

“Haru?” Gatchmon stood over his buddy’s face. “I’m your Buddy - I can tell when you’re feeling down, you know. Your lying isn’t gonna get me to stop worrying about you!”

“I’m fine, really!” Haru insisted quietly, sounding somewhat exasperated. “I just…” He shifted his gaze away from Gatchmon. “...I guess I was just thinking about how much fun Yuujin would be having with us if he were here. I think he would’ve really enjoyed the ceremony… B-but it’s fine! It’s not a big deal…” He felt the sensation of a tear in his eye and quickly wiped it away.

Gatchmon’s expression softened. “Haru, it’s okay to be upset. You’ll never feel better if you don’t let it out.” He gestured to Offmon. “I know you want to be strong for Offmon and the others, and I know you want to focus on finding Yuujin more than processing what happened. But…” Gatchmon wrapped his arms around Haru’s midsection. “...that doesn’t mean you have to hide your emotions. It’s okay to cry, Haru.”

Haru was a bit stunned, a little embarrassed at how well Gatchmon could read him, but it was to be expected. He wrapped his arms around Gatchmon weakly at first, but then clutched his buddy tightly, burying his face in Gatchmon’s helmet.


	2. Digital Library

_ “You initially activated on Leviathan’s orders. So I’m giving you an order, too. Yuujin! Be my friend, just like before. Be the kind Yuujin I knew. ...Meet me again someday in our world.” _

Everything was dark. Yuujin couldn’t see a thing. Was he dead? Was this what the afterlife was like? Was there even an afterlife for robots to begin with? Did he still have a body - could he still move? He tried to, but was unable to feel anything in his limbs. He couldn’t reach for the top of his head or the bottom of the shoe. He just felt...nothing.

But he could still think. And thinking was probably the one thing he didn’t want to do right then.

Haru’s last words to him rolled around in his head. Although he wasn’t able to respond to Haru then, he had heard everything.

He didn’t want to go back after everything that had happened. He had been held prisoner by Leviathan’s programming ever since they captured Bootmon, unable to do anything except watch in agonizing silence as the only world he and Haru ever knew was ripped to shreds. He had nearly destroyed the world - and nearly succeeded. That alone was unforgivable. But what he did to Haru, all the terrible things he had said to his best friend… He didn’t think he could ever face Haru again. Things could never go back to the way they were. As much as he desperately wanted life to go back to normal, he knew it never could. It wouldn’t be fair to Haru or anyone else to act like it had never happened, as much as he wished it hadn’t. He could never be the same best friend to Haru that he always remembered being.

Yuujin was sure he would’ve been crying by now if he had the ability to feel himself crying.

“Meet me again someday in our world.”

But Haru wanted him to come back. Even after all the horrible, evil things Yuujin had done...Haru wanted his best friend - former best friend? - to come back.

So he had to come back. For Haru. As much as Yuujin wanted to curl up into a ball and never face the consequences of his actions and the people he hurt ever again...he had to come back for Haru. At the very least, he needed to give Haru all the answers he could want. And then maybe Haru could be happy again. It was the least Yuujin could do after everything.

But that of course was easier said than done when you couldn’t see or feel anything.

He couldn’t tell how much time had passed in the void of nothingness he was encased in. He had no idea if it had been hours, days, weeks, or even longer... He couldn’t do anything but hold on - remember who he was, and fester his desire to escape and return home. He refused to lose himself to the void.  _ I won’t let Haru down. Not again. _

He felt a slight tug on his leg. At first, he almost didn’t notice it, so numbed by the overwhelming sensation of nothingness around him that it felt like nothing. But then he realized he could move that leg. And an arm. A small crack of light appeared above him, nearly blinding him as it gradually grew in size. He covered his face with both of his arms, trying to block the light. He felt himself being pulled out of something and slowly opened his eyes, but couldn’t see much in between his blinking. It didn’t appear that it was that bright - his eyes just really did not like the sunlight anymore.

At last he was able to see where he was. He was on a bright white cube overlooking a cyan and blue sea of buildings all piled on top of each other. Cubes of various primary colors as well as white cubes floated around him, each one a different size. Some had plants encasing them, and some seemed to rest at the bottom of the abyss, as if their power had been drained.

A human-like creature stood in front of him, just a bit taller than himself. It looked like it was worried for him, but it was hard to tell underneath its bug-like mask. Its body was primarily encased in silver and lavender armor, with gold accents and a yellow fuzzy brace around its neck. The most stunning feature of the creature, however, were its bright blue butterfly wings, which extended from its back. It also seemed to have a skirt made of the same sapphire material as its wings.

“Are you alright?” the fairy-like creature asked, concern clear in her voice.

Yuujin managed a nod, but then winced, a sudden pain shooting through his neck. “W-where am I?” he managed to stutter out, his lips moving a bit differently than he remembered, causing him to flub his words a bit.

“Well...truthfully, I can only describe this as a data junkyard. It’s where data that doesn’t belong in the digital world, the human world, or any other world ends up,” the creature responded with a sigh. “My name is Hudiemon. I consider myself a digital world historian - so I frequently visit this place in case any important information comes here. I certainly didn’t expect to find a person, though!” She leaned in right next to his face, examining closely, which startled the boy.

“I-I’m actually not really a person,” Yuujin mumbled. “‘M an android. Robot...AI...thing…” Words were hard.

“I see…” Hudiemon murmured. “You are clearly from the human world though, yes?”

Yuujin nodded. “And I need to get back,” he insisted. “My-my friend- I have to apologize to him.”

Hudiemon’s expression darkened and she shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s impossible. The human and digital worlds have never been able to connect with one another.”

“What?!” Yuujin yelped helplessly. He tried to stand up, but stumbled back down to his feet, wincing with pain.

“Hold on, hold on - you’ll hurt yourself if you rush,” Hudiemon gently chided, the softness returning to her voice. “Just relax for right now. It seems like you were stuck with the other garbage data for a long time, so you should take it easy. Can you tell me what happened? Who are you - and do you remember anything?”

Yuujin explained everything to her - Haru and their relationship, the fact that he hadn’t known he was an android until the betrayal, how he was forced to watch his own body destroy his best friend. He explained Leviathan, the Appmon, the Appli Drives, and his other friends. He wasn’t even sure if Offmon was alright after everything that happened. And he told her about Haru’s last words to her - how even though he could never face his friends again, he needed to go back, for Haru’s face. At least to give his friend the closure he deserved. He stumbled over his words quite a bit, and probably started crying, but it did feel nice to get it all out, like a small weight had been lifted off his chest.

Hudiemon listened intently throughout it, expression mostly stationary, but her eyebrows did twitch a few times. Once Yuujin was finished, she closed her eyes, looking thoughtful. “Well, if you’re from the human world, and you ended up here, there must be a connection somewhere,” Hudiemon mused. “I thought the connection had been completely severed after the timeline reset, but…”

Yuujin gave her an inquisitive look.

“Oh! ...Right, don’t worry about that,” Hudiemon dismissed, looking a bit embarrassed. “Well, I want to help you as much as I can, but...I’m afraid I’d have no idea where to start. I can look for any information throughout my library, but it’ll be a time-consuming process and I can’t guarantee anything… With that being said, you’re welcome to stay in my library for as long as you need. I could use some company beyond just myself.” She gave him a playful smile. “I don’t think your friend is going anywhere, so I think you should try to get some sleep. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

Yuujin gave her a grateful nod. “Th-thank you…” he stuttered out. Truthfully he didn’t expect to be able to sleep at all, but as soon as Hudiemon managed to help him to the pillow, he slipped into a deep slumber.

\---

Hudiemon watched Yuujin as he fell asleep, just to make sure his descent into slumber was peaceful, before gently closing the door behind her. She clutched her hands to her chest.

“How strange. He and I have a lot more in common than I thought I would ever have with anyone.”

“But you are a human,” Wormmon’s voice insisted.

“Was,” Erika corrected. “Quite frankly, I think he might be more human than me now. I might have been born a human, but I haven’t lived as one for decades. He might not have been born as one, but he’s lived as one for as long as he can remember.”

“I suppose so…” Wormmon mused, then pouted. “But Erika! That means you were still a human when you were a part of Hudie! Remember? You used to say you weren’t even human anymore back then, just because you had a memory server. I never thought that was fair!”

Erika giggled a little. “Maybe. Or maybe I always wanted to be a Digimon and I was too embarrassed to admit it. Honestly, I have no idea - but anything beats being locked up in that tiny room all day.”

“But you know what this means, right, Erika?” Wormmon asked. “We might be able to see Hudie again! I mean, if Yuujin was able to cross over somehow, shouldn’t we be able to, too? Or at least make some kind of contact with them? We get to see Chitose, Keisuke, and even Ryuji again!”

Erika shifted her gaze to the ground. She didn’t know what part of what Wormmon said had made a pit open up in her stomach, but something made her feel incredibly anxious. She knew none of them would - should - remember her. Would it really be worth it to contact them? Especially after all these years apart...how much of the human world had changed in all that time?  _ Maybe I should ask Yuujin in the meantime… _

Wormmon crawled over to Erika, wrapping her in a leggy hug. “It’s okay, Erika. I’m sure they’ll be happy to meet you again! And if nothing else, you’re gonna get to see how well they’re all doing!”

Erika gave her partner a gentle smile, scratching Wormmon on the head affectionately. “Thanks, Wormmon,” she replied softly. Her expression faltered slightly. Wormmon’s words helped, but she still felt a bit nauseatingly anxious. Especially at the idea of seeing her brother again.

_ I hope he’s doing better without me. _


	3. Brother Brother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some triggering content in this chapter, including child emotional abuse. The particularly triggering scene is warned about in advance!

Takumi sat on his bed in his one-bedroom studio apartment, face to the ceiling as he scrolled through his phone absentmindedly. He scrolled through his texts, letting out a sigh of boredom as he did. Nokia, Arata, Yuugo, and Yuuko were all busy with...something? He wasn’t even sure what. Arata had said that he was working on a case - but for one thing, Arata wasn’t an official detective, and for another thing, he’d still be reporting to Takumi if he was! Kyoko wouldn’t have hired Arata under Takumi’s nose...right? Yuugo and Yuuko had both said they were busy helping their aging father take care of the company - understandable, and Nokia just...hadn’t even said what she was doing. Even Fei said she was busy with something other than Yuuko, for heaven’s sake!

Takumi rubbed his eyes. A small ray of light filtered in through his blackout drapes, but said drapes easily convinced his perpetually sleepy body that it was still nap time. He didn’t expect his vacation week to be so boring. And here he was expecting his birthday week to be fun and relaxing.

His scrolling stopped at the chat messages from two people - “Mom” and “Yuujin”. He had texted both his mom and his little brother several times that week. Sure, Takumi and his mom were a bit at odds...but things had gotten better since he was able to move into his own apartment. He didn’t constantly have to deal with his mom breathing down his neck, demanding him to be productive even when he felt like he was going to collapse in his bed. Even still, she often would check in to make sure he was all caught up to date with his homework. He even offered to go to lunch sometime this week.

Even if he had done something to make her mad - which knowing their relationship, he probably had, despite not knowing it - what about Yuujin? Sure, he couldn’t remember much about his little brother since moving out four years ago, and the two years before he had were still hazy in his mind - but… He was usually pleasant enough to hang out with. He couldn’t help but be worried for his little brother.

The more he sat there reading the text messages, the more concerned he became. Maybe...it wouldn’t hurt to check on his family, right? They probably wouldn’t be mad. And hey, it would give him something to do.

He quickly got changed, brushing his hair to look somewhat presentable, and slipped on his binder. He grabbed the pair of goggles he always wore everywhere, strapped them onto his forehead, and headed out.

Walking under the beating sun, Takumi could feel a bit of a migraine brewing under the skin of his forehead. He sighed weakly.

For the past several months - ever since an event that all of his friends seemed to remember except him - Takumi had been experiencing severe brainfog, occasional migraines, and generally felt out of things. He had a hard time focusing on coursework, and his grades were...honestly bad. Like, borderline dropping out of college bad.

He just hoped his mom wouldn’t get too on his case about his grades. He wasn’t sure if she still had his login information to his coursework, but he hoped not.

He took a deep breath as he knocked on the door. No answer. He turned the knob, and it was unlocked. Not a good sign, but he tried to keep his wits about him.

It had been so long since he had been inside the house. He felt like bad memories should be flooding back to him, but he just...couldn’t remember anything. Even the scent of the house was unfamiliar, let alone the rooms, furniture, decor… But definitely the most alarming part was how immaculate everything was. The table was set as if someone was getting ready for dinner, but no one was around. All the lights were off and the curtains drawn, so clearly no one was around, but...it was just eerie.

Suddenly, Takumi felt himself get tackled to the ground. A sensation like poking needles spread from his body down his limbs, and he grimaced with discomfort. He opened his eyes to see a boy with grey-green hair standing above him and a cloaked monster standing on top of him. Wires spread out from the black monster’s claws, pricking and proding at Takumi’s body in rapid succession.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?!” the strange boy demanded.

“Ami Aiba. Goes by Takumi. Son of Yukino Oozora from a previous marriage,” the black robotic-like monster remarked. “He lives in a separate apartment from the Oozora family. Apparently he moved out before his step-father’s passing. Currently enrolled in university and works as a Cyber Sleuth under Kyoko Kuremi’s detective agency.”

Takumi’s eyes shifted uncomfortably to the ground. And just when he thought he didn’t care what people called him...here he was, getting more upset about being called his deadname than a scary robotic monster than about the scary robotic monster who just told his entire life story without even knowing him. Wait, why was there a scary robotic monster on him, and why did it know everything about him? And who was this random kid who tackled him!? He didn’t look much older than Yuujin. Were they friends?

The strange boy visibly relaxed, but was still glaring at Takumi. “Where is Yukino?” he demanded.

Takumi looked up at the mention of his mother. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.  _ Damn it, selective mutism. _ Not even in a really serious, potentially life or death situation could it give him a break.

The boy was getting more and more agitated the longer he waited. “Well? Where are they?! Spit it out!”

The monster peered into Takumi’s eyes, causing the man to recoil a bit. They made eye contact for far too long for Takumi’s liking, before the monster turned back to the boy.

“Rei, calm down. Takumi was diagnosed with selective mutism as a kid. Apparently it never got treated,” the monster informed the boy. He retracted all his wires back into his claws and hopped off of Takumi. “He doesn’t know anything - his mind was pretty easy to hack into, and he’s wondering where his mom and little brother are, too.”

Oh, Takumi HATED that the thing could read his mind, but at least it kept him from having to speak.

The boy, apparently named Rei, finally relaxed, shoulders visibly drooping. Even though he didn’t look as hostile, he clearly had a bit of a resting bitch face - probably even more than Yuuko or Arata. “So he doesn’t know anything…” He actually sounded a bit sad saying that.

Takumi hesitantly sat up before getting to his feet. He went to go get a pencil and some paper, hoping desperately that he wouldn’t be tackled again. Thankfully he wasn’t, and he sat back down on the floor, beginning to scribble something onto the pad of paper.

“Are you a Digimon?”

He passed the note to the cloaked monster.

The cloaked monster accepted the note, then seemed to grin underneath its hood. “Close, but not quite. You know more than I thought you did.” The monster passed the note back to Rei, who kept the same expression he had before. “My name is Hackmon, and I’m actually an Appmon. Which isn’t quite the same, but I see the resemblance. Still, that’s curious...from my knowledge, no humans knew about Digimon really existing, outside of us Appmon.”

Takumi tilted his head, then wrote something else down. “Are you related to the disasters that happened last week?”

Takumi still wasn’t sure what had happened honestly - he just knew what Arata told him. Arata said that there was a strange phenomena that caused a lot of damage across Tokyo involving some Digimon, and Arata was hard at work trying to piece together the clues. Maybe they were actually Appmon - after all, the others all said that no Digimon could possibly come to our world anymore…

Hackmon accepted the note and seemed to smirk again before nodding. “Yeah. I didn’t cause that, obviously, but well…I was trying to fight off the being who did.”

Takumi scribbled out one last note.

“Is Yuujin’s disappearance related to this?”

Hackmon’s expression immediately shifted - the once stoic-looking Digimon now looked incredibly sad. “It is,” he replied quietly. “Yuujin...he sacrificed himself to save us.”

Rei looked away, face obscured by his emo hair cut.

“WHAT?!” Takumi actually managed to cry out. He stood up quickly, hands trembling violently. “No, no-no-no-, Mom wouldn’t let him get hurt-”

“I don’t know where your mom was during all of this, but I doubt she had his best interests in mind,” Rei growled bitterly. “Yuujin was an AI, a robot - a robot designed to trick and destroy his childhood best friend. Yuujin was designed by an all-powerful AI named Leviathan to destroy Haru from the inside. And your mother was his programmer. The one who physically built him.”

Takumi stood there, white as a ghost. He had a combination of a perplexed and a horrified look on his face. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Yuujin was his little brother! Not a robot! His mother wasn’t some evil scientist - she was just a reporter and researcher who worked from home!

But then his mind started making connections between old memories and this new information. How his mom “always knew what Yuujin wanted for dinner”. How it seemed like Yuujin had no privacy at all. How it seemed like Yuujin wasn’t allowed to hang out with anyone after dark, except maybe Haru occasionally.

He didn’t find it that weird at the time - the latter was something he always experienced too, and he was pretty sure he wasn’t a robot.

“If you don’t believe us, I don’t blame you,” Hackmon piped up. “But we’re looking for any remnants of her research. If you could lead us in the direction of her computers, that’d be appreciated.”

But this didn’t make any sense! He didn’t remember Yuujin that well, but he never remembered his little brother as anything but kind. He honestly felt bad that Yuujin had to live alone with his mother - but for his own sake, he had to run away. But after all of this…

A memory flooded into Takumi’s mind - struggling for dominance over a memory of him simply going to school as usual that day with Yuujin nowhere in sight, but he forced himself to focus on the memory with Yuujin. Yuujin had actually been allowed to invite Haru over for once, and Takumi could tell how close they were. They hadn’t even known each other a year yet, but they were already best friends. They trusted each other unconditionally.

Takumi scribbled something down, this note visibly more disheveled than the past ones. “Yuujin wouldn’t trick anyone. Especially not his best friend.”

“You’re right,” Hackmon answered.

“Oozora Yuujin didn’t intentionally trick anyone,” Rei stated clearly. “He had no idea he was an android. He was programmed to genuinely feel for Haru and be his friend. Their friendship wasn’t a lie, despite everything. Yuujin would’ve been saved, but that damn Leviathan…” Rei grimaced, clenching his fists tightly and turning his head away. “That damn coward couldn’t handle losing to us in the real world and took over Yuujin’s body, merging their programming. Leviathan couldn’t be left alive, or else the entire world would be destroyed… And Yuujin chose to destroy himself and Leviathan to save all of us.”

“Leviathan tried to force Haru to pick between all of humanity and his best friend. Haru was ready to make the right choice, but Yuujin stopped him and pressed it for him,” Hackmon added. “He didn’t want Haru to feel any guilt, even if he wouldn’t get to be in Haru’s life anymore.”

Takumi couldn’t stop trembling, and he hated it. But what else was he supposed to do? He couldn’t bring himself to cry - he was too shellshocked. He didn’t know what to do.

“The computers,” Rei reminded him.

“Sorry, he’s not very good at tact,” Hackmon apologized, to which Rei just grumbled.

Takumi managed a nod, leading them upstairs to where his mom’s office was. Rei and Hackmon wasted no time in beginning to hack the computer.

Takumi sat down on the other side of the room, hands still shaking violently. He managed to write out part of one more note, but couldn’t even finish it before he began feeling tears rolling down his cheeks. He tossed the pencil and pad aside and buried his face in his hands, trying not to sob audibly enough for Rei and Hackmon to hear.

\---

(TRIGGER WARNINGS: Homophobia, transphobia, child emotional abuse)

“It’s not fair that I’m not allowed to stay at her house just because she’s dating a girl!” a young Takumi shouted. “She’s still the same friend I’ve always known!”

“I don’t care,” Yukino snapped back. “You’re not allowed to sleep over with boys either for the exact same reason. It doesn’t matter their gender - if they’re interested in girls, you’re not allowed to sleep over at their house.”

If only she knew the truth, Takumi thought to himself as he sneered.

Yuujin sat at the dinner table, quietly working on his homework and trying to ignore his mother and older sibling arguing. Ever since their stepdad had left, Takumi and Yukino had been fighting a lot, far more than they ever had before. Yukino had calmed down when she met her ex-husband, but ever since he left, she had started being really strict about who Takumi and Yuujin could hang out with, finding the smallest reasons to keep them isolated from their friends. Heck, the only friend of Yuujin’s that Takumi had ever met was a boy from Yuujin’s school named Haru.

“I’m 16! You shouldn’t get to decide who I can hang out with anymore, I can make those decisions for myself! It’s not like they’re some crazy murderer or something - they’re my childhood friend!” Takumi shouted.

“You’re so disrespectful, Ami Aiba,” Yukino hissed at her eldest. She walked behind Yuujin and put her hands on his shoulders, causing him to flinch somewhat. “Why can’t you be more like your little brother? I swear, boys are so much easier than girls…”

Takumi repressed a shiver at being misgendered. Even though he was gradually coming out to his friends at school, he sure as heck was never coming out to his mom. And Yuujin, well...he did love his little brother, but…

“You think it’s important to listen to what I say - don’t you, Yuujin?” Yukino egged her adopted son.

Yuujin looked up with a deadpan expression, his voice and actions almost robotic. “Of course. Mom knows best.”

Yukino had him wrapped around her pinky finger.

Takumi let out a sigh and stormed up to his and Yuujin’s bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Takumi had no idea what kind of background Yuujin had come from - Yukino would never let him ask when they were first adopting the younger boy, and now that Takumi was older, he decided he would let Yuujin come to him about it at his own pace, if he chose to talk to him about it at all. Adopting a child outside of family was uncommon, though, especially at Yuujin’s age, and Takumi worried about what kind of past Yuujin might’ve had.

For all Takumi knew, Yukino could look like a great parent in comparison. Sure, she was controlling and protective, but at least she cared for them both. As much as Takumi hated to call what she did “caring”.

Takumi heard a knock on the door. He lifted his head, and the door cracked open. Yuujin walked inside. “Sorry,” the 10-year-old apologized sincerely, looking worried and a little ashamed. “I-I didn’t want to disturb you, but Mom needs to work on the computer and I have homework...could I borrow your laptop?”

It was their laptop, actually. Yukino had given it to the two as a Christmas present the first Christmas after they adopted Yuujin. Takumi just happened to use it more than Yuujin did.

Takumi nodded, not having the strength to talk things out right now. It wasn’t Yuujin’s fault, anyways. It was Yukino’s.

Yuujin nodded back gratefully and grabbed the laptop.

Takumi sat in awkward silence for a while as Yuujin typed away.

“Hey...Yuujin?” Takumi finally spat out.

Yuujin looked up.

“You know you can always come to me if you need help with anything, right?” Takumi offered. “I mean, Mom can be a bit...much sometimes. I don’t like fighting with her, but...the point is, you can always talk to me if you need someone to talk to.”

Yuujin gave a smile small and nodded. “Of course. Thanks, sis.”

Takumi flinched a bit. “A-actually…” Was he really going to come out to his little brother? “I was wondering...when we aren’t around Mom, do you think you could call me Takumi? And use he/him pronouns for me and stuff? But not around Mom, just...only when it’s the two of us or we aren’t around her. I’m worried she would get mad at me for asking you to do that.”

Yes, yes he was going to come out to his little brother, apparently.

Yuujin blinked, clearly a little confused, but he didn’t look mad or upset. “Yeah, sure!” Yuujin replied with a nod, then went back to his homework like nothing happened.

Takumi let out a sigh, releasing all the tension he had been feeling for the past several minutes. Well, that at least went better than expected.

Until it didn’t.

Takumi remembered the day he came home from school, only to find his mother standing outside their house. Her hands were on her hips, a dark scowl painting her face.

Takumi could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, but he had no idea what was coming as he approached her.

She yelled at him and berated him for daring to ask to be called by a different name, She insisted that he would no longer be allowed to cut his hair how he wanted to, or hang out with friends at all after school. He would now have to wear the girls’ uniform no matter what, even though his school had no dress code.

Takumi sat there in silence, rage brewing underneath him. He couldn’t speak even if he wanted to, his selective muteness taking him over.

“And if you don’t like it, then you can pack your things and leave,” Yukino finished.

Takumi pushed past her and did just that - he packed everything he could into his various backpacks he had collected over the years and his suitcase he had used as a kid on vacation. He walked back out the front door, his mom glaring at him from the kitchen.

Takumi turned to walk down one side of the street, but noticed Yuujin walking down the other side of the street, back home from school.

Yuujin saw his older sibling and smiled and waved. Bitterness clutched at Takumi’s heart.  _ Yuujin. _ Yuujin ratted him out, and yet acted so friendly towards him still.

“Takumi!” Yuujin called out, still waving. He noticed their mother standing in the doorway and his expression faltered, his walk faltering in front of his house. “...Mom?”

“Don’t ever use that name to refer to your sister again,” Yukino hissed, grabbing Yuujin by the cuff of his shirt and dragging him inside the house.

Yuujin looked genuinely startled, giving Takumi a bewildered but apologetic glance as the door was slammed behind him.

Takumi didn’t look back. He turned around and walked off to the LGBT+ youth center he had been researching over the past several weeks.

\---

It took Takumi years to get over that. Even though Yuujin frequently texted him to ask him how he was at first, Takumi would stall replying, and give cold answers. In hindsight, it wasn’t really fair - but at the time, Takumi had too much on his mind to worry about the little brother who he thought had outed him and ruined his relationship with his mother.

But what if Yuujin hadn’t meant to out him at all?

When his mother had apologized around the holidays of that year, Takumi was a little bit surprised. He stayed guarded, but gradually they rebuilt their relationship. But something was still...off. He still didn’t like how closely guarded his mother was towards Yuujin. It felt like if Takumi let his guard down at all, his mom would go right back to treating him as he always did. And so he stayed in his apartment that the center had helped him get, and continued to work odd jobs to make sure he could afford rent.

(END TW)

“All I can find are logs of Yuujin’s memories and vital signs,” Rei remarked suddenly, snapping Takumi rather violently out of his thoughts. “But the signs point to the analyzers being somewhere in this house. We’ll have to keep looking, Hackmon.”

Hackmon nodded.

“Yuujin’s memories?” Takumi blurted out. “Like, all of them?”

Rei looked at the boy. He looked a bit surprised for a moment, then worried, before going back to stoic - probably because he saw the tear stains on Takumi’s face, if the older boy had to guess. “Not...all of them. They were only backed up every few months. But there’s evidence of a live feed. At the very least, it would ping his memory server multiple times a day, possibly only when he was in the house based on these time logs. Meaning there’s more up-to-date technology, and thus logs, in this household somewhere.” Rei narrowed his eyes, scowling. “Yukino...I swear, if I ever see her again, I’ll take care of her for good.”

“Don’t be rash, Rei,” Hackmon chided. “Humans can get arrested for murder. But I can’t.”

Takumi felt a lump rise up in his throat, choking his voice. Even though there were times when he really, truly hated his mother… he couldn’t have imagined all of this. Constantly spying on Yuujin’s every thought?

No wonder Yuujin was always so close to her. No wonder she had found out about Takumi’s identity. So many times when Yuujin seemed to be on the same page as Yukino suddenly came together in such a terrifying way.

No wonder Yuujin was her favorite child. She had constant access to all of his memories, all of his thoughts, any time she wanted. He couldn’t keep any secrets from her. He had no privacy. He could be manipulated to her whim. Just like she wanted Takumi to be - but she gave up realizing how much easier it was to manipulate Yuujin into her perfect little superstar.

Protective anger mixed with guilty regret surged in Takumi’s chest. How had he not realized how toxic their relationship was before? Obviously, he couldn’t have predicted something like this, but… Why had he just taken Yuujin as a mommy’s boy who snitched to make himself look good, instead of realizing there was something more at play? Yuujin had never been anything but kind to him when they were alone. How could Takumi let this happen?

Without thinking, Takumi grabbed a large hole puncher from Yukino’s desk and ran towards the computer. He smashed the monitor repeatedly with the hole puncher, yelling with rage as he did. Rei and Hackmon jumped back at the first swing, startled. But when Takumi aimed a swing at the actual computer, Hackmon quickly stopped him, blocking Takumi’s attack with just his claws.

“I know you’re upset, but we can’t let you destroy this computer yet. Not until we find everything in this house,” Hackmon insisted.

“Time to pull every book or item on a shelf in this stupid house to see if there are any hidden passages,” Rei decided, walking out before waiting for confirmation from anyone. Hackmon followed him, looking back and waiting for Takumi to follow them.

Takumi was panting, finally dropping the office utensil as he caught his breath. He only now realized that he had started crying again. He wiped his tears and followed the other two out.

After staring intently at several walls and book shelves, Rei finally called out, “I found it.” He ran his finger down a part of the wall that looked ever so slightly off, but it was mostly hidden by a bookshelf. He managed to pull it open, the bolted-down bookshelf taking the door to a hidden passage with it. “I assume she had some kind of button to open this, but this works too.”

Takumi gasped at the sight. He lived here for most of his life and had never seen any hidden passages. This still felt like some kind of weird fever dream to him - or maybe that’s just what he was wishing it was.

Rei and Hackmon quickly slipped inside, and Takumi followed in an also quickly fashion. Rei flipped a switch, and the lights flickered on. Takumi’s eyes widened with horror.

The room was like a laboratory, adorned with computers and test tubes. On the right hand side was what made Takumi nauseous to look at - there were several slots in the wall, and each one had what Takumi could only describe as a version of Yuujin’s body in it. The furthest one from the entrance had a naked endoskeleton, while the one closest to him was the youngest version, which he recognized from when they first “adopted” Yuujin. The body second furthest away was the tallest, but still didn’t look fully grown. And the slot next to it was empty, clearly Yuujin’s current form. Or rather, the form he had before-…

Rei muttered a swear under his breath, although it felt clear Takumi wasn’t supposed to hear that, before dashing over to the computers. Hackmon extended his claws and quickly got to work decoding the information with Rei.

Takumi was transfixed by the robotic bodies to his right. He couldn’t pull his eyes away, even though he so desperately wanted to look away and have this horrible nightmare end. The reality of the situation was finally trying to sit in, but Takumi’s brain beat it away like a flyswatter. It was no longer that he couldn’t believe it - he just didn’t want to.

He sunk to his knees, staring at the ground absentmindedly.

Rei let out a small gasp from across the room.

“Rei?” Hackmon asked, as Takumi managed to bring himself to look over.

“This...this memory server pinged with Yuujin’s just a few minutes ago,” Rei replied, looking shocked. “It’s coherent data. He’s still alive somewhere - and still pinging to this machine.”

Takumi’s eyes widened. He quickly pulled himself up and ran over, peering over the shorter boy’s shoulder to read the screen.

“This most recent log...I think the signal is weak. I don’t know if that’s due to location, or due to his strength draining, though,” Rei confessed, biting at the tip of the nail of his thumb. “But I’ve seen similarly weak signals from Yuujin in both this computer and the other, and they weren’t when Yuujin was feeling particularly bad. So I’m leaning towards the idea that he’s just far away.” Rei continued to type frantically, trying to unlock more of the log.

Yuujin was still alive. Takumi let out a relieved sigh, so strong that he thought he might pass out for a moment. Yuujin was still alive!  _ Thank goodness… _

“I’m seeing a few phrases repeated over and over…” Rei remarked. “‘Digital World’, ‘Hudiemon’, and ‘trash dump.’ Could the first one be some kind of AR field, and the second some kind of Appmon…?”

Takumi felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach, tuning out of the second half of what Rei had said. “Y-you can’t go there,” he managed to say. “You physically can’t.”

He could barely remember the other timeline his friends were always talking about - but he knew that the digital world was gone. There was no way to access it anymore. And if they did, they could risk destroying the world.

“I disagree,” Hackmon remarked. “It’s difficult, but through the Digital Sea, we should be able to find a path into the Digital World eventually. We can use this computer to pin down Yuujin’s location, and open a pathway to connect with him. It’s certainly been done by us Appmon before.”

_ It has? _ Well, if the Appmon had done it before in this timeline...it would probably be fine, right?

Rei smirked. “Perfect. We finally have our first lead. It might not bring him back yet, but...we can at least contact him. We’ll have to make this our base of operations until I can figure out how this machine is pinging with Yuujin’s brain. But for right now, I need to tell Haru about this.” He walked past Takumi, gesturing for the older boy to follow him, and so Takumi did.

Takumi blindly followed Rei, not really paying attention until he realized they were back in the office. Rei handed Takumi the hole-puncher he had been swinging around like a madman earlier, causing Takumi to raise an eyebrow of confusion.

“We don’t need this computer anymore, so go ham,” Rei stated with the smallest bit of a smile.

“It’s only fair,” Hackmon added. “If Rei were you, he would’ve burned down the whole house by now.”

Rei shot a playful glare at his buddy Appmon, causing Takumi to snicker a little bit. Takumi took a deep breath, raising his weapon of choice slowly in preparation to destroy his mother’s horrible work.


End file.
